Ranged weapons
Ranged Weapons are the alternative to hand-to-hand combat. They are very useful in sieges and on horse back, but are difficult to handle effectively against enemies that manage to get in close, meaning a short-range melee weapon is still a good idea, even if you want to specialize in archery. The "Speed" stat determines the rate of fire. All projectiles drop at the same rate, as they do in the real world, so range is determined by how fast the projectile moves and by the trajectory it's fired at. The speed of the projectile is a hidden value not shown in game and must be discovered by accessing the document, item_kinds1, in your Native folder. Other than bows, crossbows, and thrown weapons, there is also the hidden Flintlock Pistol which is not normally seen in the game without cheating or editing the game code. Note: If your weapons run out of ammunition in a field engagement, you can go back to the chest at your spawning position, open and close it, and your projectiles will be fully replenished. Mount & Blade sieges do not typically have campaign chests available for equipment changes. Both Warband and With Fire & Sword permit players to pick up arrows in the terrain one at a time which may then be fired again. As of a patch in M&B: Warband, ammunition can no longer be replenished infinitely at your supply chest. Ranged Weapons and projectiles may also have Modifiers. Bows Bows are the standard ranged weapon. They are cheaper than alternatives and can have a larger supply of ammunition, but suffer from accuracy and damage if your proficiency is low. However, high proficiency will more than make up for this, allowing them to surpass the more expensive forms of ranged weaponry in many ways. All bows can be used on horseback, but unlike Crossbows or Thrown Weapons, their aiming reticule will enlarge again shortly after it reaches optimal accuracy due to the energy required to hold the string back. When fired from horseback, bows can be fired in an arc covering roughly 200 degrees. This arc starts 20 degrees to the right of your horse's head and ends at 180 degrees to your left, perfectly straight behind your horse and no further. Crossbows Crossbows are widely available throughout the game and a decent option if you didn't have the patience to get good with a bow. In terms of base damage, crossbows do more than other weapons; however they don't get the same kind of damage modifiers as others (i.e. from your Skills) and so quickly fall behind in the damage category. They are similar to regular bows in their use, hold down the mouse to draw, and release to fire. After every shot click again to reload, and then you'll be set to go. The more powerful crossbows can be fired from horseback. However, they can not be reloaded while mounted. You can dismount, reload, and continue to shoot, or stay mounted and pursue the enemy with other weapons. For players that do not like switching equipment often, you can keep a powerful crossbow equipped and still have a single shot to fire after the routing enemies or that pesky archer shooting you from afar. The crossbow, when used on horseback, can fire in an arc of roughly 250 degrees. This arc starts 90 degrees to your right and ends 20 degrees from your back on your left, far enough that firing directly behind you is impossible. Thrown Weapons Thrown Weapons are ranged weapons cast directly from the hand. Like crossbows, their reticule does not expand over time compared to bows. Like bows, they use a skill, in this case Power Throw, to augment their damage. They suffer from very low ammunition counts and can be quite expensive, but offer excellent damage ratings. The weapons are themselves the munitions and therefore do not require another item, like arrows for bows or bolts for crossbows, to be cast. All thrown weapons are single handed, so may be used with a shield and can be employed from horseback. Additionally, throwing weapons have the smallest accuracy penalty out of all the ranged weapon categories while moving, both on foot and on horseback. This is little help as throwing from a moving horse is exceedingly difficult, with or without the penalty. The arc when throwing from horseback is the smallest out of all weapons and appears to cover a perfect 180 degrees. This arc starts 20 degrees from your immediate right and ends just after your immediate left. When x is pressed some throwing weapons turn into polearm. With the exception of the throwing spears, polearm/throwing weapons are generally useless. Ammunition Bows and Crossbows require ammunition to be of any use. When the ammunition is gone, the weapon can no longer fire any projectiles. Ammunition automatically refills after battle. If an arrow or bolt is bent then that will subtract 3 from the damage. Category:Ranged Weapons Category:Weapons